Air Force officials working with local officials on potential reroute of Ohio 444

  • Published
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Air Force officials here have published a draft Environmental Assessment seeking public comment for a proposed reroute of Ohio State Route 444 which bisects the base's Kittyhawk Center with Area A/C.

"The key driver for the proposal is force protection. We need to make significant gate modifications to ensure they meet current Air Force antiterrorism requirements" said Col. Bradley Spacy, commander of the 88th Air Base Wing.

The project includes establishing a new base Gate 1C on the existing Ohio Route 444 near Dayton Drive in Fairborn, and rerouting State Route 444 traffic between West Dayton Drive and West Dayton Yellow Springs Road.

"This project has been in the works since 2003 and is not imminent. We've been working hard with the local communities to make sure the effort is completely understood and transparent." Col. Spacy said. "The project is maturing but still in the planning stage. We're not shovel ready."

The short length of Ohio State Route 444 identified for possible closure and rerouting exists on federal land. The easement allowing State Route 444 to transit the base has been in place since the early days of Wright-Patterson, base civil engineers said. The project was amended in response to a request by the City of Fairborn to better support city business district development efforts and create more business along Kauffman Ave.

"We've been working with key stakeholders including the City of Fairborn, Greene County, ODOT, the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission, and Wright State University, among others, for several years now," Spacy said. "This is a great base and community project; the base gets improved Force Protection while the community gets an economic boost for the downtown area."

A public notice was published Feb. 26 in Fairborn Daily Herald, Dayton Daily News and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Skywrighter newspaper, announcing the base was accepting public comment on the draft Environmental Assessment and draft Finding of No Significant Impact related to the proposed project. The environmental assessment can be viewed in its entirety at the Greene County Public Library, Fairborn Branch. Written comments and inquiries on the draft EA and FONSI should be directed to:

Ted Theopolos
88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
5215 Thurlow St.
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 45433-5543